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MMO of the Day: Planeshift

I remember when I was in high school and came across Planeshift; heralded as a free MMO that boasted hundreds of thousands of subscribers with a hugely detailed world, a variety of races to choose from, and an in-depth character creation section. I was immediately impressed with Planeshift’s interface when it came to creating a character; a variety of questions are asked that impacted the skills and temperament, like what profession your mother and father held, where you grew up, what event took place during your birth. I had a lot of fun changing my answers to see what my character’s strengths and weaknesses would turn out to be.

Planeshift’s unique quality comes from it’s diverse races that the player can choose from in the beginning. Besides the humans and dwarves you see in many other games, players can select the Ylian, the tall and red skinned people who are susceptible to silver, or the agile and catlike Enkidukai, or even a race made of stone called the Kran. Each race comes with its own specialties and drawbacks, so choosing a race depends on your preference of gameplay.

Back in the development stage of Planeshift, there were a few quests to be done and most players would run around looking for gems like emeralds, rubies, and diamonds which have since been replaced with the currency tria. The quests could only be initiated if the player typed in the correct phrase, which was difficult figuring out, but since then the game allows players to initiate dialogue with the mouse. The world is pretty fun to explore and the game has come a long way since I first signed up those years ago.

Because the game is free and the people developing it have only their love for games as their reward, the game is taking some time to settle in and make an impact in the gaming community. But as you can tell from the screenshots the graphics are fairly detailed and the world is expansive, so anyone looking to try out a free and fun MMO should give Planeshift a try.